Favorite vocal recitals on CD or DVD

Started by bhodges, April 24, 2007, 11:04:11 AM

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king ubu

Quote from: knight66 on May 28, 2014, 10:03:06 PM
Thanks for that recommendation, I found the disc on Spotify. A very good technique, the voice perhaps a little monochrome, but she uses words very well and dramatically. I watcher her sing Mozart Queen of the Night aria on Youtube, slightly bumpy start, but then she provides a very adroit display of her abilities. I will enjoy the Rameau disc, I can see she is able to inject playfulness into the arias as well as the dolorous.

Mike

Very good to hear, Mike! Hope you'll enjoy the disc!

Not sure she's right for Queen of the Night yet ... a bit on the young side. (On the other hand, there's 25 year old Edita Grubevora doing great here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhoFfNS36yA)

And thanks Que, will have to get that one as well, I suppose!
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

Moonfish

Arrrrrgh - now you guys have enticed me towards acquiring vocal recitals..    ???
Already went for the Sayan (Brazilian - Thanks Que) as well as the Devieilhe (Thanks Ubu)....
This will be interesting!

A few months back I picked up a few sets of opera compilations (3x40cds). The quality is highly (!) variable, but they are very fun to explore in terms of voices from the past... From my point of view a worthwhile investment. So not exactly stellar quality, but lots of vocal nuggets.
They are available (2 & 3 cheaply) at Amazon.de
Here is a review from Musicweb from 2001: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/Sept01/Great_voices.htm

Part 1: http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-I-Various/dp/B000035QD4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401380930&sr=8-2&keywords=great+voices+of+the+opera

Part 2: http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-Maria-Callas/dp/B00005826N/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MJ6D5XA7BZDMRVBNCRT

Part 3: http://www.amazon.de/Great-Voices-Opera-3-Various/dp/B00005B470/ref=pd_sim_sbs_m_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MJ6D5XA7BZDMRVBNCRT

"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

knight66

#222
Virginia Zeani: Operatic Recital: Decca

Zeani, a Romanian had a very successful career from the 1950s through to her retirement in 1982. Seemingly she sang Traviata more often than any other singer, over 500 times. Callas's husband supposedly told Zeani that she was one of the very few sopranos that Callas was afraid of. You won't get any of that from the disc notes which are silent about the singer apart from naming her. This issue is one of the 50 or so most requested vocal recitals that Decca has been issuing in batches. I am no slouch on singers, but I had never heard of her.

Listening has been deeply rewarding, she was a superb singer and it is a loss to us that she was left on the sidelines of recorded history. She has a very vibrant, dark soprano, flexible and with ease at top and bottom. Her technique and breath control are top drawer. All that could nevertheless leave little impression, but added to her gifts is a her word painting and dramatic involvement. She is a singing actress.

The original LP contained the two main arias from Lucia di Lammermoor, Sonambula, Puritani, two from Boheme and two from Traviata. Each is a gem, especially affecting is her Traviata and her savouring of the words. Even the reading of Alfredo's letter is deeply affecting. Added to that original issue are 10 further Puccini arias from what I assume was another LP recital, 79.41 minutes in total. Most of the Puccini is played over and over like classical wallpaper, but there is nothing of the routine about any of them here. The voice is forward and three dimensional and having listened through, I started the disc again. This is a really superb issue and valuable for what is basically a lost style of singing.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

KevinP

Generally speaking, I'd never been particularly interested in singers. So long as they sang the notes the composer wrote, I didn't really care who sang them. But that changed recently, particularly after a listen of Leontyne Price.

Consequently, the recital album wasn't a genre I had much interest in, except for an inexplicable handful of Pavarotti discs I bought in the 80s (and hardly listened to since the initial burst). And that's changed too.

Witness these recent additions to my collection, which almost seem to be making up for lost time.

[asin]B005D4Y6TY[/asin]
14 discs.


[asin]B005D4Y6RQ[/asin]
12 discs

[asin]B00BCCECRC[/asin]
10 discs

[asin]B00138Z97C[/asin]
15 discs

[asin]B006B2TQZG[/asin]
10 discs

And these are on their way:

[asin]B004TVVZIC[/asin]
14 discs

[asin]B0011WMWVG[/asin]
11 discs

[asin]B00BWE3HGM[/asin]
20 discs


With more in my Amazon cart waiting for be ordered.


The joy of discovery...

knight66

Well, like a religious convert your fervour is causing you to dive headlong into an ocean. What a great collection already. Many of my own favourite singers and performances sit in those boxes and I hope you come back in some detail to tell us what you think. I have virtually all the Janet Baker material in their original guises and what a collection like this can do is send you off to discover the full pieces. She in particular has a very wide repertoire excepting the Verdi/Wagner/Puccini axis. Price is another favourite. Many years ago her Tosca, Carmen etc would be compared to Callas and found wanting in expression, but in reality she was rarely bland and the sheer voice fits a lot of her roles like a glove. She recorded some quite adventurous recitlals which were chronologically programmed and although I really don't now want to hear her in Handel, nevertheless, the sheer variety was impressive and I listen to those discs more than to almost any other recitals.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: knight66 on November 16, 2014, 06:00:41 AM
She recorded some quite adventurous recitlals which were chronologically programmed and although I really don't now want to hear her in Handel, nevertheless, the sheer variety was impressive and I listen to those discs more than to almost any other recitals.

Mike

Mike, I have the box set of those recitals and I find my experience almost the reverse of yours. Quite aside from the fact that technically she is not really up to the demands of some of the music (Casta diva is a terrible mistake, and she doesn't really negotiate the Mozart coloratura particularly well), she rarely seems to have anything specific about the music. It's as if she just lets the glorious voice roll out and leaves it at that. I was so excited to get the set, but found I was profoundly disappointed. It's' rare that we disagree, but my impressions were quite different from yours. I listened to them once, then put them aside. I tried again recently to see if I was just feeling particularly churlish when I first listened to them, but, no, I felt exactly the same way, and, regardless of the variety in the material, I found no real variety in the interpretations. There is never a moment when a phrase or moment will suddenly come into sharp relief as it does with Callas, Baker, Schwarzkopf, De Los Angeles ot Hunt Lieberson, all of whom are amongst my favourite singers.



\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

knight66

Oh.....as you say, we are usually at one. I do agree that she is relatively expressionless up against the singers you list, all of whom are favourites. I have on another thread complained that she does not do well on the words up against Baker in the Solti Verdi Requiem. Ditto, her Strauss 4 Last Songs is unremarkable. Perhaps I do just get rolled all over by the sound of her voice. I don't find her bland, but she is certainly fairly generalised. I do like the modern pieces she attacks, you just don't otherwise hear a voice like that in those works. I gave her marks for imaginative planning.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

knight66

#227
Nachtviolin:A Schubert Recital

Here is a truly great recital., baritone Christian Gerhaher continues his collaboration with the pianist Gerold Huber, they have put together a pensive recital of roughly two dozen of Schubert's songs, punctuated by one or two darker more dramatic pieces.

I have enjoyed Gerhaher on disc for some time, but was very disappointed to hear him live where he resorted to whispers and parlando. But on disc he seems to sing as would be hoped. The voice flows like a river evincing wonderful legato. He is expressive without squeezing the tone or breaking up the arc of phrases, as does the mysteriously admired Bostridge. Here the words are pointed and intelligently used within the legato.

The mix of songs ranges from the well known to the relatively obscure: very much my kind of recital. Despite having probably 50 discs of Schubert songs, it is a treat to encounter new ones which are so beautifully performed.

The pianist is also first rate, they clearly enjoy a great rapport with one another. An hour which you will end satisfied and quite possibly in a contented trance.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

knight66

#228
Alice Coote, English Concert, Harry Bicket: Handel Arias

This disc has not been received as rapturously as I had expected. I bought it when I saw it at bargain price second hand. So my expectations were calibrated accordingly. There are 11 tracks where we move through Radamisto. Alcina, Hercules, Giulio Caesare and Ariodante.

This is a warm and quite rich voice, even top to toe and the breath control is excellent. The disc contains mostly slow arias and I enjoyed them enormously. There is no indelible word painting, but there is a rightness to the approach and plenty of character and expresivity. Then the surprise, the fast and furious arias sound careful, not effortful but as though she is not firing on all cylinders. 'Where shall I fly?' Is basically a character in extemis, but here, a bit anxious with cautious runs. Try Ann Sophie Von Otter for an assault that hits the mark.

So, whilst I understand the reasons for the mixed reviews, there is a lot to enjoy.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Jo498

Which of the Gerhaher/Huber discs are you referring to? Probably "Nachtviolen" as this seems the most recent one. I have the earlier "Abendbilder" which I remember to like a lot. Gerhaher is probably the finest youngish (although about 45 now) male lieder singer today.
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

knight66

Apologies Jo, I gave everything there except the most important information. You are right, Nachtviolin. I have edited the post. I have not heard the other disc you mention, though am tempted to. I have a number of his earlier discs. I agree that he is special, a very beautiful high baritone, but he can come out with some rich low notes, though they sound as though from another singer, they almost startle.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Jo498

His earliest on Arte Nova (the three Schubert "cycles") are not always as good, I seem to recall (I only have one of them), although there is a disc with chamber versions of Mahler lieder that is highly commendable.
But the "Abendbilder" is very good (on RCA) as is the "Melancholie" Schumann disc and probably also the newer Mahler (I have to re-listen to this one, I guess).

Another nice Schubert-Recital is Pregardien's "Lieder von Abschied und Reise" (songs of farewell and travel). And also the dark Mayrhofer-Lieder with Pregardien/Staier, although the latter is not a varied and maybe not so nice for listening all through in one sitting.
As good as Fi-Di and some other singers of the past were, I think we have a lot of very worthy lieder singers today.
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

kishnevi

There is also Goerne.  His series on HM is now apparently complete.

knight66

Jo, even his earlier work struck me. I have reviewed at least a couple of those discs on this site. You are right that there is a great range of excellent singers coming out with very worthwhile Schubert discs. Most of the ones I have noticed are men. Another, whose recital I also received this week is:

Winterreise Matthew Rose, Bass and Gary Matthewman.

Well worth getting hold of, here is a real bass voice. It is in interesting approach, very much an angry man who refuses to accept his fate. He is sardonic and can certainly be tender. rose is mainly known as an opera singer, but he crams a huge amount of detail into the piece. The pianist is excellent, evidently they have quite a rapport. It provides a contrast to those performances that are preoccupied with a beautiful sound.

Goerne is one singer I have not explored much, I have a Bach solo cantata disc, but it did not get to the heart of the music, it seemed a bit bland. However, I know he is very much admired.

Mike

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

mc ukrneal

Quote from: knight66 on January 18, 2015, 06:44:47 AM
Goerne is one singer I have not explored much, I have a Bach solo cantata disc, but it did not get to the heart of the music, it seemed a bit bland. However, I know he is very much admired.

Mike
Try him in more romantic fare before you write him off. His Schubert is very good.
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

knight66

#235
Half a year has passed; time to bump this thread.

O Solitude, Purcell songs and instrumental pieces, Andreas Scholl, Accademia Bizantia, Stefano Montanari.

I like this disc a lot, but it will not be to all tastes. It often reminded me of the sexed-up arrangements that Raymond Leppard made of Monteverdi's music when the operas were being revived in the UK during the 1970s. On this disc the continuo constitutes a miscelanious group of instruments including a harp. I wear no hair shirt in favour of authenticity, but there were a couple of occasions here when I felt that less would have been more and that the simplicity of the music should have been given a chance to make its mark. But mostly, I was very happy to have the continuo line so varied and hear it glitter.

Scholl is in good voice and he makes the words tell. Of course there are transpositions and his taking on Dido's Lament will jolt some listeners. Having heard it sung by every kind of female voice from Flagstad, Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman through to Catherine Bott and Emma Kirkby, Scholl should be simply another alternative, but for me, it does not work. But there are a lot of pleasures here, If Music be the food of love, One Charming Night, Sweeter than Roses, Music for a While; they and others are voiced exquisitely. There are two duets with the French countertenor, Christophe Dumaux and it is interesting to hear the two contrasting voices. The Frenchman's less soft grained, but beautiful voice, perhaps over emphatic in Sound the Trumpet. But they blend especially successfully in the other duet, new to me and the longest track here, O dive custos.

There is a bit too much orchestral padding sprinkled amongst the vocal items, but although I have reservations, I recommend the disc to those with a broad mind who are not constrained chiefly by authenticity.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

king ubu

Quote from: knight66 on January 16, 2015, 02:29:11 PM
Alice Coote, English Concert, Harry Bicket: Handel Arias

This disc has not been received as rapturously as I had expected. I bought it when I saw it at bargain price second hand. So my expectations were calibrated accordingly. There are 11 tracks where we move through Radamisto. Alcina, Hercules, Giulio Caesare and Ariodante.

This is a warm and quite rich voice, even top to toe and the breath control is excellent. The disc contains mostly slow arias and I enjoyed them enormously. There is no indelible word painting, but there is a rightness to the approach and plenty of character and expresivity. Then the surprise, the fast and furious arias sound careful, not effortful but as though she is not firing on all cylinders. 'Where shall I fly?' Is basically a character in extemis, but here, a bit anxious with cautious runs. Try Ann Sophie Von Otter for an assault that hits the mark.

So, whilst I understand the reasons for the mixed reviews, there is a lot to enjoy.

Mike

Better late than never, but: I bought this straight from the label when they offered a discount on it when it was brand new, and I enjoy it a lot!
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

knight66

It is a very long time since I have heard that disc. I borrowed it from the library in LP days.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

knight66

Who here likes, or dislikes Elizabeth Schwarzkopf?

Schwarzkopf at Aix en Provnce 1954, INA Memorie Vive IMV067:

Here is a genuine recital disc, a live one. As such it is a very rare animal from a singer who preferred the medium of the recording studio. I have never bought into the opinion that Shcwarzkopf is too arch, studied and self conscious. But if you think so, then try this live recital. Here there were no second chances for this perfectionist. If it was felt that the element of risk is missing from the carefully recorded work, here there are plenty of risks. This recording comes from July 1954. She is closely recorded and works well with Hans Rosbaud in his role as pianist.

The repertoire is wide leading finally to a group of songs by the singer's beloved Wolf. She moves through Bach, Handel, Pergolesi, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms towards the Wolf. There are several pieces here that are not otherwise available. My favourite performance is Mozart's Abendempfindung, uttely beautiful and genuinely charming. The words are at the front of the face, the close microphone enebles us to hear all the shades of meaning.

Handel's Care selve shows wonderful line and breath control and highlights her adherence to bel canto methods. Unusually here she sings a song normally associated with the male voice; something she was later to become quite strict about. The colours in Brahms's Von Ewige Liebe should be dark, she does manage this very well. The Schubert is authoritative and sounds natural.

At almost 80 minutes, the entire recital has been provided and although the sound is not quite wht EMI usually achieved, it is on every level a very satisfying disc.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: knight66 on January 05, 2016, 09:20:43 AM
Who here likes, or dislikes Elizabeth Schwarzkopf?

Schwarzkopf at Aix en Provnce 1954, INA Memorie Vive IMV067:

Here is a genuine recital disc, a live one. As such it is a very rare animal from a singer who preferred the medium of the recording studio. I have never bought into the opinion that Shcwarzkopf is too arch, studied and self conscious. But if you think so, then try this live recital. Here there were no second chances for this perfectionist. If it was felt that the element of risk is missing from the carefully recorded work, here there are plenty of risks. This recording comes from July 1954. She is closely recorded and works well with Hans Rosbaud in his role as pianist.

The repertoire is wide leading finally to a group of songs by the singer's beloved Wolf. She moves through Bach, Handel, Pergolesi, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Brahms towards the Wolf. There are several pieces here that are not otherwise available. My favourite performance is Mozart's Abendempfindung, uttely beautiful and genuinely charming. The words are at the front of the face, the close microphone enebles us to hear all the shades of meaning.

Handel's Care selve shows wonderful line and breath control and highlights her adherence to bel canto methods. Unusually here she sings a song normally associated with the male voice; something she was later to become quite strict about. The colours in Brahms's Von Ewige Liebe should be dark, she does manage this very well. The Schubert is authoritative and sounds natural.

At almost 80 minutes, the entire recital has been provided and although the sound is not quite wht EMI usually achieved, it is on every level a very satisfying disc.

Mike

I love Schwarzkopf and have recently acquired the new Warner Box Set of all her EMI recitals. Not a dud amongst them, it's a wonderful memento of one of the greatest sopranos of the twentieth century.

As you mention, she preferred the medium of recording, but she did approve some of her live recitals for release, for instance the all Wolf programme from Salzburg with Furtwangler at the piano, a 1956 Salzburg recital with Gerald Moore (in what would appear to be a very similar programme to the Aix disc), and a Carnegie Hall recital with George Reeves, as well, of course, as the Royal Festival Hall Tribute to Gerald Moore, with De Los Angeles and Fischer-Dieskau.



\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas